Senate Shuts Down Changes to the Racial Discrimination Act

Last night, the Senate debated over the wording of Section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act.

After hours of discussion, the Senate voted down proposed changes, which means Section 18c will remain as it is for the foreseeable future, the ABC reports.

The proposed changes aimed to remove the words "insult", "offend" and "humiliate", and replace them with "harass".

The Senate then continued to debate on the Human Rights Legislation Amendment Bill which didn’t seem to cause any outrageous political bursts.

The proposed change to Section 18c is by no means a new issue. The issue was first raised when right-wing columnist Andrew Bolt breached Section 18c over an article that many found offensive. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott then promised to repeal the section in 2014, but the plans were dumped after it failed to garner adequate support.

The renewed campaign comes from a push by Prime Minister Turnbull’s Liberal Party with Attorney-General George Brandis leading the debate in the Senate.

Photo: APH